Port Douglas: Sleeping beauties

Author: MICHELLE ROWE AND BELINDA SO
Photography: prue ruscoe

Pool

Hotels usually boast about staff-to-guest ratios, but at this
new Port Douglas resort they talk pool-to-guest ratios. And it's
about one to five. Spare a thought then for the pool man at Pool.
He has 16 to maintain, including a 185 metre-long kidney-shaped
number holding 1.6 million litres of water. And as anyone who's
ever had a pool in their backyard knows, while diving into one on a
sizzler of a day is heavenly, looking after it is slightly more fun
than scrubbing coral spawn from your bathers (more on that
later).

Pool offers a sleek, minimalist living space for those after
tropical cool, not kitsch. Opened last October, its 71 suites range
from two to four bedrooms - the smallest being the size of your
average inner-city Sydney apartment. A pool is a necessity in Port
Douglas, because swimming at the local beach may leave you prey to
saltwater crocs or, during stinger season, box jellyfish. And then
there's the bi-annual coral spawning, which turns the meal-pond
Pacific into a mess of reddish, fishy smelling scum. No wonder
having your own private pool is the accessory du jour. At Pool, one
may surmise that a big chunk of the $40 million development budget
was spent installing those 16 swimming holes. Swim Up Suites each
have their own terrace and access to either the main pool or a
25-metre lap pool overlooking a reed-lined creek, while its Sunset
Suites are fitted with private plunge pools.

Each suite - themed with highlights of orange, olive, maroon or
eggplant - is completely decked out with a full kitchen, flatscreen
LCD television in the living room and main bedroom, Bose iPod
docking stations and other conveniences such as a washer and dryer.
Bathrooms have tubs big enough for two and a separate shower. There
is housekeeping and 24-hour room service, and an on-site chef who
will cook for you in your suite, if you desire - yep, it's pretty
swish, the best of apartment living and hotel pampering
combined.

Design group Carr, headed by Sue Carr (responsible for the
interiors of Adelaide Hilton and Melbourne's Westin, among others), came up with Pool's
all-white fit-out and Space Furniture provided the trimmings -
from the B&B
Italia beds to the Kartell storage units and Ghost
lamps. The bathrooms are kitted out with L'Occitane
products - the verbena body lotion is restoratively soothing after
a day in the sun.

All the rooms at Pool face west to catch the pink and purple
ripple of dusk as it settles over the nearby mountain ranges - and
offer the perfect vantage point from which to watch the twilight
migration of fruit bats across the sky. Sunset hour is what Pool is
all about - it's really a euphemism for cocktail hour, and your
private terrace is the bar. In the corner of each room is an
aluminium rifle case, more installation piece than mini bar. The
'ammunition' contained within includes martini glasses, a cocktail
shaker, swizzle sticks, Simon Johnson olives and bar miniatures. It's
the brainchild of Rob Potter-Sanders, manager of Apotel, the team
behind Pool. In fact, most of Pool's quirky touches are his,
including the signs under sofas which read, 'Yes, we have cleaned
under here'.

The vibe at Pool is low-key - Rip Curl boardies, white Chesty Bond singlets,
Dunlop Volleys and Diesel sunnies are the uniforms for the
ever-helpful staff, who are always willing to drag your Yves
Klein-blue daybed around. For a lazing-by-the-pool kind of
getaway, it doesn't get much better than this.

And if you're in Port Douglas on a full moon when the coral is
getting jiggy with it and the sea smells like prawns left in the
sun, there is no better place to be than by the pool at Pool.

Peppers Balé Resort Port Douglas

With a gentle breeze wafting through the pavilion-style retreat,
lush landscaped tropical gardens and a private plunge pool within
diving distance of the master bedroom, you could easily think
you've woken in a beautiful coastal resort on the Andaman Sea.

It's only when an Aussie accent cuts through the South-East
Asian reverie to ask whether we would like the pool temperature
adjusted to a more ambient level that one is reminded this is not
some boutique escape nearer Bangkok than Bundaberg, but actually
one of Port Douglas' newest - and arguably its best - luxury
retreats.

Part of the Peppers group of resorts and hotels, Balé Port
Douglas ticks most of the boxes when it comes to the perfect
coastal getaway. It's an easy hour's drive from Cairns airport; is
situated far enough out of Port Douglas town to feel completely
secluded, and offers high-end food and accommodation with a
distinct tropical style not available anywhere else in this tourist
town. In short, it's the perfect exotic escape without the language
difficulties or the need to waste valuable lounging around the pool
time worrying whether you've got the currency conversion rate
right.

Balé, which opened in May 2007, was designed by Grounds Kent
Architects, the creative force behind the gorgeous Four Seasons
Resorts in Bali and the Maldives. Its guest pavilions (marketing-speak
has them billed as 'Sanctuaries') range from one to four bedrooms -
ideal for families or groups of up to eight - and each can be
opened almost entirely to the elements to let in the cooling North
Queensland breezes.

Pavilions have a fully equipped kitchen with Miele appliances; sitting room with plasma
TV and roomy lounge, separate dining area, plus day beds scattered
about the expansive layout (some positioned to capture the midday
sun; others cabana-style beside the pool). There's also a barbecue
and outdoor entertaining area, two-car garage, and access to a
private golf buggy in which to zip around the grounds if 'lazy'
really is your holiday watchword.

At the time we visited, 38 Sanctuaries were almost complete. A
total of 76, dotted throughout the 15-hectare grounds, are planned.
Most are privately owned and put back into a rental pool, but not
all. "One owner lives here full-time and five keep their
Sanctuaries as a private holiday home," says general manager Alan
Porteous. Lucky for some.

Although all pavilions are fully self-contained, the food offered
at Balé is a good enough excuse to steer clear of the kitchen
appliances. Installed in the in-house restaurant, Sassi at Balé, is
Abruzzo-born Tony Sassi, who previously ran Sassi Cucina in Port
Douglas town.

Sassi, joined by his wife Di, who runs the floor, produces fresh
Italian flavours using local ingredients in a bright, airy room
adjacent to the resort's main pool (no kids dive-bombing here -
they're all back in their Sanctuaries making the most of their
private plunge pools) with views over the beautifully manicured
grounds. Homemade squid-ink pasta with prawns, basil and lemon;
Queensland barramundi with olive oil, lemon and capers, and bugs
grilled with a Pernod and chive butter are a few of the
well-turned-out offerings from the kitchen.

Like any high-end resort worth its salt, Balé also keeps the spa
addict well-sated, offering everything from a caviar facial therapy
to Vichy showers and a three-and-a-half-hour couples' 'Intimate
Moments' treatment comprising jasmine and frangipani bath, massage,
spa cuisine and Champagne, and foot spa. Balé Day Spa's treatment
rooms open up to a beautiful rainforest backdrop and have outdoor
showers and soaking tubs.

While not beachfront, Balé is within walking distance of the
sandy expanse of Four Mile Beach, a palm-lined beauty completely
uncluttered by tourists jostling for towel space. You can walk the
length of the beach to Port Douglas town. If you're not up to the
walk home, shuttle buses ferry visitors between Macrossan Street
and the outer-lying resorts, including Balé, regularly throughout
the day.

Chances are, though, once you kick off your shoes in your
private, poolside cabana and start soaking up the rays in this
Asian-style oasis right in our own backyard, you won't be going
anywhere for a good, long while.

THE FINE PRINT

Getting there Qantas, Virgin Blue and Jetstar all fly to Cairns. Port
Douglas is approximately an hour's drive from Cairns Airport.